Kendal LeMire admits she wasn’t much of a coloring book person when she was younger, but the self-described non-stop creator finds great pleasure in filling
Kendal LeMire admits she wasn’t much of a coloring book person when she was younger, but the self-described non-stop creator finds great pleasure in filling in the lines between larger projects.
That’s where the graphic artist and former VCU illustration student’s newest project, #coloRVA, comes from.
Longing for her illustration days, LeMire said the simple black and white images harken back to a time before she was creating logos for local restaurants or designing graphics for TV stations.
#coloRVA started this weekend with her first drawing, a view of the city from at top Libby Hill. She printed out 200 copies and ran them around RVA dropping them off at coffee shops and breweries with the hope people will pick one up and color inside – or outside – the lines to help inspire their creative sides.
Check the full sized image here!
LeMire and I weren’t sure if the “guerrilla community art” title was a bit of a stretch, but it’s a fairly anonymous piece of work and depends on the community to help it grow, so we think it fits for now.
“I have a tendency to always be doing something creative and it gets exhausting, but its kind of a habit,” said LeMire in an interview with RVAMag. “The coloring book thing allows me to be relaxed but still be doing something in the realm of creativity… without my brain.”
While still in its infancy, she hopes to create new images every month and do similar drops the last weekend of every month. She hasn’t seen a ton of feedback yet, but the Church Hill local has garnered some support:
LeMire said she plans to mix things up with future images, showcasing other things like “coffee, beer, things Richmond’s tie themselves to” and not limit herself to one topic.
The response from shop owners has been great so far, with people being more than happy to let her leave the images on tables for locals to discover. “I spent my day on cloud 9 because everybody said they wanted one and said it was a good idea,” she said.
She does NOT drop crayons though, so if and when you find the images be prepared to provide your own color pallet.
Ideally folks will color the image as they see fit and post the image on social media with the hashtag #coloRVA. She left plenty of negative space for folks to play with, so get out there and start coloring!
“I don’t feel like it needs to be something huge,” she said about how many folks she hopes to reach with the project. “But I figured a hashtag would work well enough.”
She’s in no rush, and willing to stick with the project for a while even if she doesn’t see too much feedback too soon. “As long as it’s well accepted and people enjoy it,” she said. “It doesn’t cost much to get the stuff printed and I figure its worth the karma.”
You can download the images and print them out yourself here, or keep an eye out the last weekend of every month to get the authentic experience.
